


Behind The Closed Doors

by LadyKleo



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Gen, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-04
Updated: 2014-06-08
Packaged: 2018-02-03 10:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1740968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKleo/pseuds/LadyKleo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a story of Bethany Hawke, an Enchanter in the Kirkwall Circle of Magi. Yet unedited by Varric Thetras.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My usual disclaimer. English is not my first language, so beware grammar mistakes. Any volunteers for being my Beta are welcome. Hope publishing the story will force me to write it faster. And hope you enjoy it. :)

The book was… wrong. It wasn’t particularly explicit, or cruel, or even totally unrealistic, but reading it made Bethany feel uneasy. She borrowed it from a maid servant, Terry, when she finished everything Isabela had sent her earlier. Most of the pirate’s books were naughty, but they were tasteful. Sometimes there were even Isabela’s or Varric’s own manuscripts, and Bethany was among the first readers. Reading those always made her smile. Terry’s book was different. It depicted a relationship between an apprentice mage and a templar recruit, both were young and innocent, and their love blossomed, unnoticed by the others, until the time came for the mage’s Harrowing. He wasn’t strong enough, and she had to kill him. Sure such things happened now and then, here and there, but it wasn’t something either mages or templars would like to read about in a book. It was definitely written for outsiders, but, judging by the author’s knowledge about the life inside the Circle’s walls, he or she was a resident. Could it be the templar who cut off the head of her lover to stop his suffering? Bethany shivered.

She wrapped the book in a scarf and hid it under her bed, planning to return it to Terry as soon as possible. It was the time when they were allowed to have a walk around the inner courtyard, and she didn’t want to miss the opportunity to have a breath of relatively fresh air. However, the courtyard was crowded by the templars. The balcony was full of mages, so Bethany slowly made her way up there to find out what all this fuss was about. Her students cleared a spot in the “first row” for her so she could see the yard well. Now it was clear why everyone was there. 

In the center of the courtyard Knight-Commander Meredith was sparring with Knight-Captain Cullen. Unlike the training sessions Bethany saw from time to time when the templars were wearing leather armour and used wooden sticks instead of their regular weapons, now it looked real. Both Meredith and Cullen were clad in iron and used huge greatswords, both fought in full power. Bethany noticed a dreamy expression on Ella’s face when she was watching Knight-Captain’s performance. She put her hand on the girl’s shoulder and whispered into her ear: “Always remember why they’re training.” Ella nodded, but kept looking down at the improvised arena. Bethany could do nothing but watch, too, but her eyes followed Meredith. It was safer that way, she told to herself with a tiny smile, nobody, being sane, would have fallen for the Knight-Commander. Nevertheless, her movements were easy and graceful, so it was quite interesting to see how she was outplaying Cullen, and it was only a matter of time when he would ask for mercy. Bethany nodded to herself, she’s chosen the right side.

It took some time, but Meredith won. Cullen was still standing with the sword in his hands, but even from the balcony Bethany could hear how heavy his breath was. As for the Knight-Commander, only few drops of sweat running down her face indicated that she was probably tired, if not just felt hot in her armour. 

“This is what I expect from you all,” the woman said to the templars, then turned to Cullen. “As for you, Knight-Captain, I’d recommend next time you choose the weapon you know.”

“Of course, Knight-Commander,” he nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

The time was around midnight when Bethany decided it was safe to go to the servants’ quarters to return the book. She wrapped a shawl around her shoulders and grabbed an empty glass so if anyone would see her she could tell that she’d felt thirsty and was on her way to get some water. Looking in a small mirror she made sure she was looking sleepy enough, took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. The corridor was empty, so Bethany exhaled in relief. Though when she turned around a corner, she saw a moving shadow. That person walked briskly and quietly, and had a small frame, which led Bethany to a conclusion that it was a mage, and something in the way they walked was familiar. She carefully put the book and the glass on the windowsill and followed the person. 

When her eyes got used to the darkness, Bethany realised why the walk of the mage ahead of her seemed to be familiar. It was her favourite student, Ella. For a moment Bethany wanted to let the girl know she was there, then suddenly someone put a hand on her shoulder. Her back stiffened, and she slowly turned back only to see a disapproving look on the face of the Knight-Commander. 

“Please, be quiet,” Bethany mouthed, pointing at Ella.

They followed the girl together. Without her armour Meredith moved soundless. Bethany hoped that Ella would lead them into the library or the kitchen, which would still be breaking the rules, but easily explainable, but soon it became clear that she was going to the top of the tower. At one point Bethany wanted to let the girl know they were there, but the templar squeezed her arm and whispered “No”. Bethany had no choice but to obey. 

To Bethany’s surprise, the door to the roof terrace was unlocked. Ella opened it and disappeared into the darkness. 

“What’s going on?” Meredith whispered.  
“I have no idea,” Bethany murmured. “I saw her in the corridor and decided to see where she was going.”

When they opened the door, Ella was standing at the edge, bent over the rail and looking down.

“Stop!” Meredith shouted.

The girl turned to them, in a shock, and it gave Bethany enough time to cross the terrace and grab her around her waist, restricting her movements.

“It was the only way!” Ella cried. “They will never let me go!”

Bethany embraced her tighter and pressed her forehead to the girl’s temple. 

“Who are you talking about?” Meredith demanded. “Demons?”  
“No!” Ella looked at the Knight-Commander, horrified. “I’m not some sort of an abomination! They are!”  
“Are you saying there are blood mages inside the Circle?”  
“I… I don’t know…”

The girl finally relaxed, and Bethany led her away from the edge of the roof. Once inside, Meredith gestured them to follow her into the astronomy chamber. The room was small and dark, but its walls were thick and lined with bookshelves, which made it a perfect place for preventing the conversation from being overheard. Meredith locked the door and lit a candle which filled the chamber with a dim light. 

“Now you can talk,” it was clearly an order.

Ella looked at Bethany, and the older girl nodded.

“I’ve been… abused. Not physically, not like that. But…” She gulped nervously, then continued. “There is a man I like. I never told anyone, I swear! But they know!”  
“Who are they?” Meredith asked.  
“I don’t know… They leave notes in my drawer, or in my bed, or in my books… At first they were just saying that they knew about my interest in that person. Then they threatened to tell him about me.”  
“What did they want?” Bethany put her arm around the girl’s shoulders.  
“Nothing. They asked for nothing. As if me being scared of humiliation was enough for them. But today I was approached by a templar. He said… He said if I fancied men in armour he’d be happy to keep me a company. He knew! I… I ran away from him. And then I found another letter saying that it was only a beginning.”  
“That’s inhuman…” Bethany muttered.  
“Indeed…” Meredith nodded. “Who was that templar?”  
“Ser Alrik…” Ella whispered barely audibly. 

Meredith closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Ser Alrik was causing way too many problems recently. 

“We will investigate. As for now, let the girl sleep in your room tonight,” she said to Bethany. “By the way, why were you not in your bed?”  
“I was going to get some water,” Bethany shrugged, trying to sound as natural as possible.

Meredith didn’t notice it was a lie, or pretended she didn’t.


	3. Chapter 3

“Do you think Knight-Commander will say anything to Ser Alrik?” Ella asked, sitting on a small wooden stool in Bethany’s room.  
“I’m not sure,” Bethany admitted. “He’s one of her lieutenants, after all. She trusts him.”  
“I regret telling her… What if she will reprimand him, and then he’ll turn on me?”

The younger girl shivered. Ser Alrik had a reputation of a ruthless man . They said he had proposed to make all the mages tranquil, no matter, harrowed or not. Of course, even for a templar such an idea was too radical, but Ella knew for a fact that every Rite of Tranquility performed in Kirkwall was supervised by him. 

“Sweetheart, do you have anyone outside the Gallows who could harbour you?” Bethany asked suddenly.  
“My mum…” Ella muttered, then nodded. “I think she might help me.”  
“Good. Have you ever heard of Mages Underground? I have a friend in there. He could help you to get out of here.” 

Bethany heard Anders mentioning some tunnels under the Gallows, used by smugglers who supplied templars with lyrium. Mage sympathisers also used them when someone needed to be rescued from the Circle. And if Ella had attracted Ser Alrik’s attention, leaving would be her only chance to stay safe. 

“What if they will find out? They always know!” Ella exclaimed.  
“Ella,” Bethany sighed with a faint smile. “Your fascination with the Knight-Captain is written all over your face. There is no need in blood magic to read that. They are not a problem, Ser Alrik is. But if you’ll keep quiet for a while and let me organize your escape route, everything will be alright.”  
“What should I do?”  
“Nothing. Act as usual. And try to be around people all the time. If the Knight-Commander will talk to Ser Alrik about your accusations, even if he’ll manage to convince her it was a lie, I doubt he’ll want to attract her attention in the near future. It will buy us enough time.”

* * *

Sending a note to Anders wasn’t difficult. He usually came to the Gallows along with her sister at least once a week to trade with Solivitus, and the Formari never refused to pass a letter or two, especially if it was for one of his suppliers. He’d just pass it along with the next list of ingredients. It always surprised Bethany, how easily one could communicate with the outside world, provided they had the money and knew the right people. Surely, the templars got their share, because they always looked in an opposite direction when it was necessary. Very few were idealists wholeheartedly believing they do a right thing keeping mages confined, and most of those were either zealots, or plain sadists like Ser Alrik or Ser Karras. 

* * *

Several days later an old mage whom Bethany rarely saw outside his room and whose name always slipped her mind approached her and, with a cunning smirk, gave her a note. It explained how to get to the tunnels leading out of the Gallows avoiding unneeded attention. No names were mentioned, but she knew she could trust it. She recognized Anders’s handwriting. Someone should have been meeting Ella half way through the tunnels to ensure her safety. And it had to be done on the next night.

A shy smile here, a small bribe there… Getting to the kitchen was easy, and the entrance to the tunnels was right there, in the pantry. The girls found the trapdoor behind one of the shelves.

“This is it,” Bethany said with a sad smile. “Remember what we discussed?”  
“Yes…” Ella straightened her plain dress. “Stay in the shadows, be quiet, make sure that the people I see are not smugglers, but those sent by the Mage Underground before letting them know I’m there… But how would I know?”  
“At least one of them will be a mage. Probably more. And no boxes.” 

Bethany didn’t want to admit she’d never actually thought about this, but it seemed Ella didn’t notice her puzzled look. She sighed and hugged her favourite student. 

“Everything will be alright, I promise…”

Bethany left the kitchen and hurried back to her room. She didn’t see a shadow following them. She didn’t know the trapdoor she’d just sent Ella through was not the only entrance into the tunnels.


End file.
